More than 130 students at Sullivan Foundation partner school West Virginia Wesleyan College recently came together to package 10,000-plus meals for Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization that wants to end hunger by 2030.

The event was coordinated by Wesleyan’s Center for Community Engagement. Students participating in the event included Wesleyan Service Scholars, members of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Chi Phi and Theta Chi fraternities, and athletes from acrobatics & tumbling, women’s basketball, football, men’s and women’s golf, lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s track.

The meals are designed to provide a comprehensive array of micronutrients and include enriched rice, soy protein, dried vegetables, and 20 essential vitamins and nutrients. One in three people worldwide are adversely affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Rise Against Hunger meals are provided in schools to encourage increased enrollment and attendance.  For adults in community empowerment programs, the provision of meals offsets productive time lost while attending training sessions. Meals distributed in hospitals and clinics support patients’ nutritional needs and complement their treatments.

The Rise Against Hunger event was aimed at world hunger, but Wesleyan students are taking action locally, too. Prior to Super Bowl Sunday, students from the WE LEAD Poverty Reduction team and the Buckhannon Volunteer Center worked to challenge groups on campus and in the Upshur County community to compete in a SOUP-er Bowl Sunday collection event. Groups collected canned soup and other non-perishable items to be donated to the Upshur County Parish House.

“Projects such as Rise Against Hunger and SOUP-er Bowl provide our students with the opportunity to become more knowledgeable about poverty, hunger and economic issues throughout the world,” said Jessica Vincent, director of the Center for Community Engagement. “Our students are constantly searching for ways to empower change and impact the local community and beyond.”

This article is an edited version of the original story appearing on the West Virginia Wesleyan College website.

Back to all News items.